While Death Stranding‘s absence from E3 was well known before the event, new information has trickled out about the upcoming Kojima Productions game, including the reveal there is currently a playable version.

In an interview with The Telegraph, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden revealed he has played the strange game, adding it is “progressing nicely.” More importantly, Layden confirms it is indeed as revolutionary of an experience as Hideo Kojima informed it would be when first announced. Hideo Kojima’s work, whether commercially successful or not, always has his unique flair and sense of intrigue, so it’s exciting to hear the first title from his new production company will continue his mark as a creator.

On the technical side, Layden also shared Horizon: Zero Dawn‘s engine, Decima Engine, pushed Death Stranding‘s development onto a smooth path to create playable levels. Of course, the overall gameplay mechanics are still a mystery, leaving fans only to speculate through the various trailers and teases from the actors working on the game. However, it seems even Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and the entire development team are still hazy on Kojima’s overall vision for the game.

A final interesting bit of information from the interview came down to Layden’s view on Sony’s approach to their games versus Microsoft’s. “My philosophy is to play my strengths. And if you look at the studios we have—Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Santa Monica Studios, Japan Studios—that’s what we do well,” he said. “We do story. We create characters.” Most of this is likely a rallying cry for Sony fans, but it is interesting knowing Death Stranding will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive, meaning we really could be in for a deep, character driven story that falls in line with recent Sony titles like The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

About Evan Slead

Evan has been loving games since he could hold a controller. When not replaying Megaman X or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the 100th time, he also has been writing about entertainment, from horror movie reviews for Bloody Good Horror to TV recaps and general news for Entertainment Weekly, and now all things gaming. Say hello on Twitter at @EvanSlead.

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Death Stranding is already playable

Shawn Layden shared an update that is making Kojima fans giddy.

While Death Stranding‘s absence from E3 was well known before the event, new information has trickled out about the upcoming Kojima Productions game, including the reveal there is currently a playable version.

In an interview with The Telegraph, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment America Shawn Layden revealed he has played the strange game, adding it is “progressing nicely.” More importantly, Layden confirms it is indeed as revolutionary of an experience as Hideo Kojima informed it would be when first announced. Hideo Kojima’s work, whether commercially successful or not, always has his unique flair and sense of intrigue, so it’s exciting to hear the first title from his new production company will continue his mark as a creator.

On the technical side, Layden also shared Horizon: Zero Dawn‘s engine, Decima Engine, pushed Death Stranding‘s development onto a smooth path to create playable levels. Of course, the overall gameplay mechanics are still a mystery, leaving fans only to speculate through the various trailers and teases from the actors working on the game. However, it seems even Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and the entire development team are still hazy on Kojima’s overall vision for the game.

A final interesting bit of information from the interview came down to Layden’s view on Sony’s approach to their games versus Microsoft’s. “My philosophy is to play my strengths. And if you look at the studios we have—Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Santa Monica Studios, Japan Studios—that’s what we do well,” he said. “We do story. We create characters.” Most of this is likely a rallying cry for Sony fans, but it is interesting knowing Death Stranding will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive, meaning we really could be in for a deep, character driven story that falls in line with recent Sony titles like The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

About Evan Slead

Evan has been loving games since he could hold a controller. When not replaying Megaman X or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the 100th time, he also has been writing about entertainment, from horror movie reviews for Bloody Good Horror to TV recaps and general news for Entertainment Weekly, and now all things gaming. Say hello on Twitter at @EvanSlead.